Movies like Cuba (2002)
The best movies like Cuba (2002) are The Lost City (2005), Mayerling (1968) and Désirée (1954). If Cuba hooked you with its drama and romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Heiress (1949)7.8/10 from 294 votes
- NewestCabrini (2024)Released 2024
- In SpanishZama (2017)Also in Spanish
The Lost City (2005)
In Havana, Cuba in the late 1950's, a wealthy family, one of whose sons is a prominent nightclub owner, is caught in the violent transition from the oppressive regime of Batista to the Marxist government of Fidel Castro. Castro's regime ultimately leads the nightclub owner to flee to New York.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMayerling (1968)
Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria clashes with his father, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, over implementing progressive policies for their country. Rudolf soon feels he is a man born at the wrong time in a country that doesn't realize the need for social reform. The Prince of Wales, later to become Britain's King Edward VII, provides comic relief. Rudolf finds refuge from a loveless marriage with Princess Stéphanie by taking a mistress, Baroness Maria Vetsera. Their untimely demise at Mayerling, the imperial family's hunting lodge, is cloaked in mystery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDésirée (1954)
In Marseilles, France in 1794, Desiree Clary, a young millinery clerk, becomes infatuated with Napoleon Bonaparte, but winds up wedding General Jean-Baptiste Berandotte, an aid to Napoleon who later joins the forces that bring about the Emperor's downfall. Josephine Beauharnais, a worldly courtesan marries Napoleon and becomes Empress of France, but is then cast aside by her spouse when she proves unable to produce an heir to the throne.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOphelia (2019)
Ophelia comes of age as lady-in-waiting for Queen Gertrude, and her singular spirit captures Hamlet's affections. As lust and betrayal threaten the kingdom, Ophelia finds herself trapped between true love and controlling her own destiny.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Heiress (1949)
In 1840s New York, the uneventful and boring days of the daughter of a wealthy doctor come to an end when she meets a dashing poorer man — who may or may not be after her inheritance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Young Victoria (2009)
As the only legitimate heir of England's King William, teenage Victoria gets caught up in the political machinations of her own family. Victoria's mother wants her to sign a regency order, while her Belgian uncle schemes to arrange a marriage between the future monarch and Prince Albert, the man who will become the love of her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSunshine (1999)
The fate of a Hungarian Jewish family throughout the 20th century.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnna Karenina (2012)
In Imperial Russia, Anna, wife of the officer Karenin, goes to Moscow to visit her brother. On the way, she meets charming cavalry officer Vronsky, to whom she's immediately attracted. But in St. Petersburg’s high society, a relationship like this could destroy a woman’s reputation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Invisible Woman (2013)
In 1857, at the height of his fame and fortune, novelist and social critic Charles Dickens meets and falls in love with teenage stage actress Nelly Ternan. As she becomes the focus of his heart and mind, as well as his muse, painful secrecy is the price both must pay.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
SnoozefestMovies like thisOriginal Sin (2001)
A young man is plunged into a life of subterfuge, deceit and mistaken identity in pursuit of a femme fatale whose heart is never quite within his grasp.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Current War (2018)
Electricity titans Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse compete to create a sustainable system and market it to the American people.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZama (2017)
In a remote South American colony in the late 18th century, officer Zama of the Spanish crown waits in vain for a transfer to a more prestigious location. He suffers small humiliations and petty politicking as he increasingly succumbs to lust and paranoia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Movie Teller (2023)
María Margarita is the youngest of four siblings in a family living in a mining town in the Atacama Desert (Chile). The most special time of the week for this family is Sunday, when they all go to the movies to enjoy stories that let them escape their everyday lives by transporting them to other worlds. The girl’s parents soon realise that the little girl has a very special gift: an almost uncanny ability to recount movies. The girl’s extraordinary talent will spread throughout the village, changing the fortunes of her family as the country is transformed forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRadium Girls (2020)
Young women toiling in a factory are exposed to hazardous material which takes a disastrous toll on their health.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChe: Part One (2008)
Ernesto Guevara, known as 'Che', leads a group of Cuban exiles under Fidel Castro in a revolution to overthrow Fulgencio Batista, the dictator of Cuba.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Book of Daniel (2013)
Taken into slavery after the fall of Jerusalem in 605 B.C., Daniel is forced to serve the most powerful king in the world, King Nebuchadnezzar. Faced with imminent death, Daniel proves himself a trusted Advisor and is placed among the king's wise men. Threatened by death at every turn Daniel never ceases to serve the king until he is forced to choose between serving the king or honoring God. With his life at stake, Daniel has nothing but his faith to stand between him and the lions' den.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEnd of the Spear (2005)
"End of the Spear" is the story of Mincayani, a Waodani tribesman from the jungles of Ecuador. When five young missionaries, among them Jim Elliot and Nate Saint, are speared to death by the Waodani in 1956, a series of events unfold to change the lives of not only the slain missionaries' families, but also Mincayani and his people.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Age of Innocence (1993)
In 19th century New York high society, a young lawyer falls in love with a woman separated from her husband, while he is engaged to the woman's cousin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOslo (2021)
The true story of negotiations between implacable enemies — the secret back-channel talks, unlikely friendships and quiet heroics of a small but committed group of Israelis, Palestinians and one Norwegian couple that led to the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCabrini (2024)
Italian immigrant Francesca Cabrini arrives in 1889 New York City and is greeted by disease, crime, and impoverished children. Cabrini sets off on a daring mission to convince the hostile mayor to secure housing and healthcare for society's most vulnerable. With broken English and poor health, Cabrini uses her entrepreneurial mind to build an empire of hope unlike anything the world had ever seen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBelizaire the Cajun (1986)
In 19th-century Louisiana's Cajun country, Belizaire is the informal spokesman for his citizens, who don't see eye to eye with local racists who wish to eradicate all Cajuns. Complicating matters is that Belizaire's former flame is now married to his biggest rival, an affluent landowner's son. Before he knows it, Belizaire is caught up in a web of murder, lies, and prejudice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Newsies (2017)
A week in the life of the exploited, child newspaper sellers in turn-of-the-century New York. When their publisher, Joseph Pulitzer, tries to squeeze a little more profit out of their labours, they organize a strike, only to be confronted with the Pulitzer's hard-ball tactics.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLost Illusions (2021)
Lucien de Rubempré, a young, lower-class poet, leaves his family's printing house for Paris. Soon, he learns the dark side of the arts business as he tries to stay true to his dreams.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLittle Women (1994)
Four sisters come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGlory (1989)
Robert Gould Shaw leads the US Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices of both his own Union army and the Confederates.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001)
The year is 1893 and India is under British occupation. In a small village, the tyrannical Captain Russell has imposed an unprecedented land tax on its citizens. Outraged, Bhuvan, a rebellious farmer, rallies the villagers to publicly oppose the tax. Russell offers a novel way to settle the dispute: he challenges Bhuvan and his men to a game of cricket, a sport completely foreign to India. If Bhuvan and his men can defeat Russell's team, the tax will be repealed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRuusu ja kulkuri (1948)
The story of Finnish singer Abraham 'Aappo' Ojanperä, who was born in the late 1850s. On his journey from a crier boy from Liminga to an international singing star, Aappo never forgets his first love Katri, who faithfully waits in Liminga for his return.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Kesäillan valssi (1951)
A story built around the music of Oskar Merikanto, tells the love story of the poor musician Lauri Alanko and the daughter of the rich Grahn family Annina. Annina’s family doesn’t approve of the relationship, and the couple’s happiness is also threatened by Lauri’s worsening eye disease.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Mangal Pandey - The Rising (2005)
The film begins in 1857, when India was ruled by the British East India Company. Mangal Pandey is a sepoy, a soldier of Indian origin, in the army of the East India Company. Pandey is fighting in the Anglo-Afghan Wars and saves the life of his British commanding officer, William Gordon. Gordon is indebted to Pandey and a strong friendship develops between them, transcending both rank and race.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove's Long Journey (2005)
Missie's surprise pregnancy sets her on a new course that is both thrilling and terrifying. After all the planning and dreaming, she and her husband Willie are headed west in a covered wagon, leaving behind the prairie home of Missie's parents. Now, caught between the excitement of the new adventure and the pain of not knowing when she'll see her family again, Missie copes with the challenges, and cherishes the rewards, of her new homestead.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Cuba?
The closest matches to Cuba are The Lost City (2005), Mayerling (1968) and Désirée (1954). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Cuba?
Start with The Lost City (2005), the closest match to Cuba.
What is the highest-rated movie like Cuba?
The Heiress (1949), rated 7.8/10 by 294 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Cuba?
Cabrini (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like Cuba?
Yes: Zama (2017) and The Movie Teller (2023).
How are movies similar to Cuba chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Cuba, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.